Wild Side of the World Ch 13

The well trod dirt of the village kicked up hardly any dust as a strong wind rushed in from the east; but the sounds it produced were incredible.  The high pitched rustle of grass, hissing like a snake; the fluttering of leaves in the trees, like a moth flying too close by an ear; wind chimes knocked together, seeming to call everyone to attention to the fight about to commence.

“You have any reason for calling me out for a fight?  Or is this simply a matter of you not liking the way I smell?”  Kiba faced off against the much taller man.  This O’De was a man in his prime, but still youthful from the look of his scars.  Akamaru was acting oddly stoic, flaring his nose and perking his ears before letting them fall to the sides of his head again.

“You’re an Inuzuka, I don’t need another reason.”  Stretching his forearms and triceps, O’De spun a spear in his hands before leveling it at Kiba.  The lioness to his side narrowed her eyes but kept her mouth closed; the half-meter long fangs sticking from her mouth were more than menacing enough.

Karui smelled a little worried, odd.  He couldn’t really blame her though; this whole situation was odd and left a lot of room for doubt.  Best to end this fight quickly and hopefully without bloodshed.

Cracking his knuckles, he took notice of the villagers gathering around to see the spectacle.  Across the dirt lot O’De held a spear in either hand with two more strapped to his back.  They were short staffed with broad blades, meant for stabbing and short range throws.  There was a scent to them that was troubling.

“It’s not the smell of blood Kiba, look at the wood by the blade.” Akamaru growled to his side.  The dog was right, the wood which held the blade in place was darkened, as though by fire.

“I thought there was something odd about these people.”  Circling around to O’De’s left while Akamaru remained still; he got a better look at the spears while seeing how his opponents would react.  Relaxed muscles and watchful eyes betrayed nothing of their fighting style.  The first move would be fast and unpredictable.  The way O’De gripped the lion with his knees showed he was ready for the lion to jump at any moment.  Though likely a capable fighter in his own right, he seemed the type that primarily fought in a mounted combat style.

Firmly securing his new knife to an interior pocket in his jacket Kiba cracked his knuckles and ran his claws along the palms of his hand.  As often as he used weapons and ninja tools, there was no satisfaction quite like using his own natural weapons in a fight.

Akamaru barked a battle charge as Kiba attacked, the lion jumped but Kiba anticipated the angle of attack and spun of its claws reach up to where O’De was sitting.  His claws met metal spear in a flash of sparks, though not as strong as metal they were more than a match for the hardened wood of the shaft, which exploded in splinters where his free hand struck.

Spinning on top of his lioness, O’De unraveled a band of cloth on his left arm, revealing sealing tattoos.  Akamaru attacked the lion head on, trading hits with laws and paws.  The Ninken was smaller than the saber-tooth, but much more nimble.  With a second spear the wild man cut his thumb and ran blood along his tattoos, which summoned a hardened leather shield to his right hand.  Beating his spear against his shield he smirked at Kiba, “Come on cub.”

The taunt was obvious, but Kiba knew better, there was something else to this man’s combat style Kiba was missing.  The truth was that this was a game they were both playing; you had to save your surprises for after your opponent had already shown their hand.

“Fine, we’ll do it this way then.”  Crouching low, Kiba felt himself tense in a familiar fashion; in a sort of torque that twisted his muscles and tendons down to his bones.  “Gatsūga!”  The charge spun his vision, yet his focus was not lost.  He knew to not aim for center mass.  The shield would block his view and a spear would meet his charge.  Instead he let the spinning momentum of his attack bound him low before coming in high on O’De’s right.  The man skillfully blocked with his shield, redirecting Kiba up into the air at the loss of his summoned protection.  The blow had almost knocked him off of his seat, but he stayed on the lion.

As Gatsūga’s spin faded Kiba realized he was at a disadvantage in the air.  O’De raised his right arm as a sight and cocked back his spear arm for a throw.  The heat of the sun was on his back, yet it was Kiba’s front which felt warm.

‘It’s his metal spearhead, glowing hot from Fire chakra.  Clever.’  Crossing his hands in front of him, Kiba twisted again and hoped he would make it in time.  “Kage bunshin no jutsu!”  The shadow clone appeared allowing Kiba to kick himself off of it just as the spear shot through the side of his jacket.  ‘Even with the dodge he not only kept track of the real me, but almost hit my vitals.  This guy is good.’

Landing hard, the shadow clone helped him to his feet before joining Akamaru in surrounding the pair in a delta formation.

“Always a fan of the tricks.”  O’De swung a leg off of the lioness, but rested his right hand on its shoulder.  “That’s the way of you dogs, hiding in your forests, running with other packs.”

Taking off his jacket, Kiba looked at the hole and frowned.  “I’m pretty sure there’s some back-story here that I’m missing.  I get enough of it to know that you hold a grudge against the Inuzuka, but truth is the fact that I know nothing about you just tells me that you weren’t important enough to remember.”  Some members of the crowd gasped, to his side Kiba heard Karui laugh out loud.  O’De narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth.  Holding his last two spears in either hand, he channeled his chakra into them.

The larger man was quick on his feet, with faster hands than Kiba anticipated.  While dodging the spears Kiba saw the lioness had tackled Akamaru and pinned him to the ground, the shadow clone rushed in and checked the lioness in the small ribs, with an audible crack the saber-tooth backed off Akamaru, allowing the Ninken to hit her full on with a Gatsūga.

Those spears were Kiba’s main concern.  For a moment he considered using his new knife, but likely the heated metal would damage his new weapon – which seemed more of a souvenir than an actual weapon.  O’De relied primarily on rapid thrusts, seemingly not wanting to have a wide arc slash parried or redirected.  The hafts of the spears rested against his massive forearms; not allowing much opportunity for Kiba to win the game with and moves against the upper body.

“Shikyaku no jutsu.”  Dropping to his hands and feet to avoid another stab, Kiba let his chakra run through his cerebral cortex, rewriting his instincts and reactions to a feral state.  Such thoughts were in the back of his mind, as his entire body began to react seemingly outside of his control.

O’De’s footwork was impressive, but he was unable to keep up with Kiba’s speed as he circled around him and cut into one of his hamstrings with his claws.  Spears were thrown and dodged, but in a spin the larger man was able to drop an elbow down on Kiba’s head.  As the blow made contact, Kiba spun as he stood up, taking only a glancing hit.

The shadow clone disappeared with a puff of smoke as the fight ended.  Rising to his feet, the strange hunter nodded to Kiba in a show of respect.  “Perhaps not a test of strength, but I cannot doubt your speed or your skill.  You have proven yourself to me and that should be enough for my clan.”  Picking up his spears he bowed to the Elder before mounting his lion.  “Until next we meet O’Kiba.”  With little other ceremony the man rode out of the village to the vast plains of the island.

Not a little bit of confusion was left with Kiba, “What was that all about?”  Kiba practically yelled at the Elder as he went back inside the man’s tree house.

“There are four tribes which inhabit the center of the island.  We were all once one tribe, but the various families all went their separate ways for one reason or another.”  The old man stopped himself before taking a seat.  “No I guess I should start at the beginning.  Our Clan once lived on the mainland, the kingdom known as the Land of Fire.  In the years after the Rikudou Sennin several Shinobi Clans emerged with affinity for animals.  Some beasts had such great affinity for chakra that they secluded themselves from the world and had to be summoned back into it… but that is another story.

“Clan Yozo, our Clan, is the oldest.  The others split off from us.  In the distant past we feuded with many of the other Clans from the forests, but the ones who eventually defeated us were none other than the Inuzuka, your ancestors.  So we took our refuge from the Land of Fire and came here.”

“I’ll buy that part of your story, but with all of these statues I think you owe me another one.”  Kiba finally decided to take a seat, Akamaru taking one side, Karui his other.

“Very well then,” The Elder lit a pipe that smelled of tobacco similar to what the third Hokage had smoked.  “O'Kiba, E'Karui, I shall tell you the story as it was passed down to me by my ancestors.  It is a tale of war, of magic beyond human understanding, and of a man who cannot die.”